At the age of 30, Markus Zusak has already asserted
himself as one of today’s most innovative and poetic novelists.
He is the award-winning author of four previous books for young
adults: The Underdog, Fighting Ruben Wolfe, Getting
the Girl, and
I Am the Messenger, recipient of a 2006 Printz Honor for excellence
in young adult literature. His most recent novel, The Book
Thief (Random House, $16.95 ), has been nominated
for a 2006 Quill Book Award and is a favorite of the Politics and
Prose Children’s Department, which collaborated to interview
Markus Zusak for the store.
The Children's Department Asks Markus Zusak 10 Questions
Children’s Department: You mention Graham Greene, Sylvia Plath, and Morris West in your
novel I Am the Messenger. Did you include these writers
because they worked within the context of the story, or was it
simply a nod to some of your literary influences?
Markus Zusak: It was a little of both. Those
three writers loomed heavily while I was writing the book, and
I really loved the titles of their books and poems as well. The
Clowns of God, The Shoes of the Fisherman, The
Power and the Glory, The Bell Jar and others. I liked
the idea of a town with a Clown Street, or Glory Road, and so on.
Sometimes things come to you and you just use them because you
like them.
CD: The Book Thief is a remarkable novel
about a tremendously painful subject, the Holocaust. How did you
keep the text from becoming overpowered by the horrors of the topic? How
did you handle your own emotions while you were writing the book?
MZ: I focus on the story. The word Holocaust
is only something that’s become prominent since the book
has been released. I actually never looked at the book as a Holocaust
novel or a World War Two novel. While I was writing, I was asking, ‘Does
the story work? Do the characters work? I guess it’s a case
of story first, subject second.
CD: Why did you choose Death as the narrator
for The Book Thief? Which came first, the voice of the
narrator or the identity?
MZ: The identity of Death was there from the
beginning, and there were two turning points when it came to tone
and style. The first was nine months into writing, when I went
back to the beginning and wrote the first aside: ‘Here is
a small fact: You are going to die.’ That gave me the tone
I wanted, and by default, I had the unusual trait of cordoning
off small sections for Death to whisper in the reader’s ear.
The second turning point was when I realised that Death should
be afraid of humans, because he is on hand to see all of the incomprehensible
things we do. It gave me the idea that he tells this story to prove
to himself that humans are actually worth it. Also, the irony that
Death is afraid of humans really appealed to me.
CD: The Book Thief was published
as an adult novel in Australia and as a young adult novel in the
United States. Which was your intended audience? Do you think
the book’s distribution as a young adult title limited its
audience in the States?
MZ: I actually thought no-one was going
to read it, so I just wrote the book for me. That’s why all
of the great things that have happened to the book have surprised
me so much. I’m not really concerned about the Young Adult
categorization. As far as I can see, the book has ended up in the
hands of the right people.
CD: The Book Thief is an intensely
visual novel. What made you decide to include so many pictures,
diagrams, and bold text, and do you think this is a technique that
you will use in future work?
MZ: I wanted Death to view the world slightly
differently to the way we do, and I liked the thought that this
book would be unlike any other. I didn’t go out of my way
to make it different, but again, I just recognized the ideas, asked
if they fit the story, and left them in. I think my next book will
use similar methods. I’m interested in the way stories are
delivered, from the overall structure to they way the words look
on the page, so there will definitely be a lot of thought put into
style, structure and the visual aspects of the book.
CD: Of all the characters you have invented,
do you have a favorite? How did you create that character, and
is the character based on a real person in any way?
MZ: I think Rudy is my favourite character (from The
Book Thief). I loved him from the moment he painted himself
black and pretended to be Jesse Owens. I cried the most for Rudy
as I was writing. He is 80% fiction, with a few splashes of my
father. For example, my dad stopped going to Hitler Youth, the
same way Rudy did. He was also hand-picked to join a selective
school for Nazis and his father was sent to war for refusing
to hand him over.
From a more comedic angle, I feel like the best reason for I
am the Messenger existing is because of The Doorman. I loved that
old dog who wouldn’t move from the door.
CD: What were your favorite books as a teenager?
Please mention a few.
MZ: My
Brother Jack (an Australian classic
by George Johnston) and What’s
Eating Gilbert Grape (Peter
Hedges). Also, any high school kid in the public school system
in Sydney was given a healthy diet of S.E Hinton.
CD: What music are you listening to right now?
What book is by your bed?
MZ: Morrisey’s new album. There’s
a song on it called ‘Life is a Pigsty’ which is brilliant.
The book by my bed is actually a pile of books: The Shadow
of the Wind (Carlos Ruiz Zafon), Shantaram (David
Gregory Roberts) and The Glass Canoe (David Ireland).
The pile grows quicker than I can read them.
CD: Congratulations on your new baby! What
are some of her favorite books?
MZ: She is already a huge Doctor Seuss fan. Green
Eggs and Ham is popular, and so is The Big Brag.
Even if Nikita gets miserable, I just keep reading, for my own
sake! We also just started reading The Neverending Story.
CD: We can’t wait for your next publication. What
are you working on?
MZ: My new book is still in the very early stages.
It’s called Bridge of Clay, about a boy who builds a bridge
and wants it to be perfect. We’ll see how we go, I guess. It’s
been great talking to you. Thanks for having me!
